--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why no,\" he said, reasonably, and looked…" description: "\"“Why no,\" he said, reasonably, and looked at his watch, \"we can wait another hour if you like. We can become friends then. Or we can wait until closing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/james-baldwin-995_losing-time_why-no-he-said-reasonably-and-looked-at_1590043.jpg" --- # Why no," he said, reasonably, and looked at his watch, "we… ![“Why no," he said, reasonably, and looked at his watch, "we can wait another hour if you like. We can become friends then. Or we can wait until closing time. We can become friends then. Or we can wait until tomorrow, only that means that you must come in here tomorrow and perhaps you have something…” quote by James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/james-baldwin-995_losing-time_why-no-he-said-reasonably-and-looked-at_1590043.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/james-baldwin-995_losing-time_why-no-he-said-reasonably-and-looked-at_1590043.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/james-baldwin-995_losing-time_why-no-he-said-reasonably-and-looked-at_1590043.jpg) > ““Why no," he said, reasonably, and looked at his watch, "we can wait another hour if you like. We can become friends then. Or we can wait until closing time. We can become friends then. Or we can wait until tomorrow, only that means that you must come in here tomorrow and perhaps you have something else to do." He put his watch away and leaned both elbows on the bar. "Tell me," he said, "what is this thing about time? Why is it better to be late than early? People are always saying, we must wait, we must wait. What are they waiting for?”” [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker questions societal pressure to be punctual, suggesting that waiting may be a social construct rather than a necessity. **In simple terms:** Questioning why we value timeliness over lateness. Key Takeaway Reflect on your own time expectations. Themes time society expectations Mood contemplative curious Type philosophical dialogue When to use this quote - work meetings - social gatherings - personal deadlines - travel plans Key Concepts social constructs psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever feel pressured to be early? - What would change if you embraced waiting? A Different Perspective Being late can cause missed opportunities and affect reliability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Closing time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closing-time/) [Losing time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Tell me, he said, "What is this thing about time? Why is it better to be late than early? People are always saying, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/tell-me-he-said-what-is-this-thing-about-time-why-is-it-better-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I regretted my human form briefly; it would be so much easier to drag and rope information into the brain as neatly as one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/i-regretted-my-human-form-briefly-it-would-be-so-much-easier-to-drag/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [“It is closing time in the gardens of the West.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-conolly/it-is-closing-time-in-the-gardens-of-the-west/) Cyril Conolly > [“Their mother died early, and not in a good way. Not that anyone dies in a good way, Tin footnotes to himself, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/their-mother-died-early-and-not-in-a-good-way-not-that-anyone-dies-in/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Sometimes we'd sit on that bench for hours, talking about nothing much and blowing smoke rings into the air, and we'd see them teetering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ire-t-robinson/sometimes-we-d-sit-on-that-bench-for-hours-talking-about-nothing-much/) Máire T. Robinson > [“When there are two men left in the bar at closing time, and one of them coldcocks the other, it is not equivalent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-there-are-two-men-left-in-the-bar-at-closing-time-and-one-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’m glad he’s staying, the barmaid thought. Although she could take care of herself, witnessing how calmly this officer was dealing with these two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-m-glad-he-s-staying-the-barmaid-thought-although-she-could-take/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“I saw and heard all sorts of things in my fever; I was riding a merry-go-round, I wanted to get off but I couldn’t.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grass-gunter/i-saw-and-heard-all-sorts-of-things-in-my-fever-i-was-riding-a-merry/) Grass Gunter > [“The moral is, never be sorry for a waiter. Sometimes when you sit in a restaurant, still stuffing yourself half an hour after closing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter-sometimes-when-you-sit-in-a/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“I nipped into this sanctuary late this afternoon and soon heard the dying footfalls of closing time. From now on, my only effort will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-collier/i-nipped-into-this-sanctuary-late-this-afternoon-and-soon-heard-the/) [John Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-collier/) > [“They filed out into the cold night at closing time, heading for Begbie's place with a carry-out. They'd already spent twelve hours drinking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/they-filed-out-into-the-cold-night-at-closing-time-heading-for-begbie/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [I've always been into asking the big questions; I'm the last guy out the door at closing time cuz I was sittin' around 'til…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-ve-always-been-into-asking-the-big-questions-i-m-the-last-guy-out/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [“In previous years, they might have spent hours in the cellar, on their feet, never seeing the time go by nor feeling their legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-coss/in-previous-years-they-might-have-spent-hours-in-the-cellar-on-their/) [Laurence Cossé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-coss/) > [In my head, at least, the business of spinning stories has no closing time. Twists in my characters' lives, glimpses of their secrets, obstacles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/in-my-head-at-least-the-business-of-spinning-stories-has-no-closing/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [The Internet is like closing time at a blue-collar bar in Boston. Everyone’s drunk and ugly and they’re going to pass out in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-wieseltier/the-internet-is-like-closing-time-at-a-blue-collar-bar-in-boston/) [Leon Wieseltier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-wieseltier/) ## More by James Baldwin > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that people live, and have lived here, are so ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-south-is-very-beautiful-but-its-beauty-makes-one-sad-because-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“All cultures have, furthermore, an economic, social, and political base, and no culture can continue to live if its political destiny is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/all-cultures-have-furthermore-an-economic-social-and-political-base/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I remembered that life in that room seemed to be occuring beneath the sea, time flowed past indiffrently above us, hours and days had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-remembered-that-life-in-that-room-seemed-to-be-occuring-beneath-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“No. It would help if I were able to feel guilty.But the end of innocence is also the end of guilt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/no-it-would-help-if-i-were-able-to-feel-guilty-but-the-end-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Perhaps now, though, he had hit bottom. One thing about the bottom, he told himself, you can't fall any further. He tried to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/perhaps-now-though-he-had-hit-bottom-one-thing-about-the-bottom-he/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“What kind of friendship have you had? Or for that matter...what kind of love affairs?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/what-kind-of-friendship-have-you-had-or-for-that-matter-what-kind-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“For these are all our children, we will all profit by or pay for what they become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/for-these-are-all-our-children-we-will-all-profit-by-or-pay-for-what/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Every society is really governed by hidden laws, by unspoken but profound assumptions on the part of the people, and ours is no exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/every-society-is-really-governed-by-hidden-laws-by-unspoken-but/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In those days my mother was given to the exasperating and mysterious habit of having babies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-those-days-my-mother-was-given-to-the-exasperating-and-mysterious/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“He was suggesting that all Negroes were held in a state of supreme tension between the difficult, dangerous relationship in which they stood to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/he-was-suggesting-that-all-negroes-were-held-in-a-state-of-supreme/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In the beginning—and neither can this be overstated—a Negro just cannot believe that white people are treating him as they do; he does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-the-beginning-and-neither-can-this-be-overstated-a-negro-just/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“If the world wasn't so full of dead folks maybe those of us that's trying to live wouldn't have to suffer so bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/if-the-world-wasn-t-so-full-of-dead-folks-maybe-those-of-us-that-s/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I am very much concerned that American Negroes achieve their freedom here in the United States. But I am also concerned for their dignity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-am-very-much-concerned-that-american-negroes-achieve-their-freedom/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The paradox—and a fearful paradox it is—is that the American Negro can have no future anywhere, on any continent, as long as he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-paradox-and-a-fearful-paradox-it-is-is-that-the-american-negro/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) [Explore all 312 James Baldwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## More Closing time quotes > [“I regretted my human form briefly; it would be so much easier to drag and rope information into the brain as neatly as one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/i-regretted-my-human-form-briefly-it-would-be-so-much-easier-to-drag/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [In my head, at least, the business of spinning stories has no closing time. Twists in my characters' lives, glimpses of their secrets, obstacles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/in-my-head-at-least-the-business-of-spinning-stories-has-no-closing/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [“In previous years, they might have spent hours in the cellar, on their feet, never seeing the time go by nor feeling their legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-coss/in-previous-years-they-might-have-spent-hours-in-the-cellar-on-their/) [Laurence Cossé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-coss/) > [I've always been into asking the big questions; I'm the last guy out the door at closing time cuz I was sittin' around 'til…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-ve-always-been-into-asking-the-big-questions-i-m-the-last-guy-out/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [“They filed out into the cold night at closing time, heading for Begbie's place with a carry-out. They'd already spent twelve hours drinking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/they-filed-out-into-the-cold-night-at-closing-time-heading-for-begbie/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [“I nipped into this sanctuary late this afternoon and soon heard the dying footfalls of closing time. From now on, my only effort will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-collier/i-nipped-into-this-sanctuary-late-this-afternoon-and-soon-heard-the/) [John Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-collier/) > [“The moral is, never be sorry for a waiter. Sometimes when you sit in a restaurant, still stuffing yourself half an hour after closing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter-sometimes-when-you-sit-in-a/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“I saw and heard all sorts of things in my fever; I was riding a merry-go-round, I wanted to get off but I couldn’t.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grass-gunter/i-saw-and-heard-all-sorts-of-things-in-my-fever-i-was-riding-a-merry/) Grass Gunter > [“After a spent day, I walked back in a fever. The whole way home the sun touched my cheeks. The blissful evening glow spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/after-a-spent-day-i-walked-back-in-a-fever-the-whole-way-home-the-sun/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“I’m glad he’s staying, the barmaid thought. Although she could take care of herself, witnessing how calmly this officer was dealing with these two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-m-glad-he-s-staying-the-barmaid-thought-although-she-could-take/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“When there are two men left in the bar at closing time, and one of them coldcocks the other, it is not equivalent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-there-are-two-men-left-in-the-bar-at-closing-time-and-one-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sometimes we'd sit on that bench for hours, talking about nothing much and blowing smoke rings into the air, and we'd see them teetering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ire-t-robinson/sometimes-we-d-sit-on-that-bench-for-hours-talking-about-nothing-much/) Máire T. Robinson > [“Their mother died early, and not in a good way. Not that anyone dies in a good way, Tin footnotes to himself, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/their-mother-died-early-and-not-in-a-good-way-not-that-anyone-dies-in/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It is closing time in the gardens of the West.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-conolly/it-is-closing-time-in-the-gardens-of-the-west/) Cyril Conolly > [The Internet is like closing time at a blue-collar bar in Boston. Everyone’s drunk and ugly and they’re going to pass out in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-wieseltier/the-internet-is-like-closing-time-at-a-blue-collar-bar-in-boston/) [Leon Wieseltier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-wieseltier/) [Browse all 29 Closing time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closing-time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why no,\" he said, reasonably, and looked at his watch, \"we can wait another hour if you like. We can become friends then. Or we can wait until closing time. We can become friends then. Or we can wait until tomorrow, only that means that you must come in here tomorrow and perhaps you have something else to do.\" He put his watch away and leaned both elbows on the bar. \"Tell me,\" he said, \"what is this thing about time? Why is it better to be late than early? People are always saying, we must wait, we must wait. 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